The Key of Heart
by Ally-Kat722
Summary: Kingdom Hearts is no longer just a game. Our world has been connected and one of our own shall become the next Keyblade wielder. But this time, the Keyblade chooses a girl! Romance to come! (Warning: Cid is coming...FF7 style...)
1. Beginnings: Chosen Heart

Well, here it is again. I decided that the entire thing needed a redo desperately, so here it is! I hope y'all like it! Please, RR (again!)! ;) Later!

* * *

School was never really boring…most of the time. My class was in the library doing research for our English project, but I just don't research much at school. Besides, I was so much further along than everyone else. And we couldn't check out any books. That was a real pain in the rear because I LOVE to read. So…I laid my head down, and I let sweet darkness take me into the realm of sleep.

* * *

I was hurtling across a plain with fires of all sorts of colors on all sides, surrounding, burning, healing, wanting, and needing me. Every color imagined was there, and even some that weren't. Red, blue, green, all flew by and suddenly I slowed my sideways flight. I stopped and landed on a black ground where all fires were too far away to light my path. Then a light erupted under me and the blackness became animals of every color, very much like the fires. I looked up to follow the progress of the animals and a single feather drifted down in front of me. Then I saw what the animals had uncovered. It looked like a circular stained glass window. It was yellow, and it had a person on it. It was so big though, that I couldn't tell who it was supposed to be. 

_Kaitlyn…_ a voice called my name…_ Kaitlyn…the heart calls you…you must find it…the door cannot be opened with out it._

_It is time. Choose your weapon…_

Around me rose three pedestals. On each appeared a different weapon, a sword, a shield, and a magician's staff.

"It's like Kingdom Hearts." I thought. I had just finished the game the night before, and to tell the truth, I had cried at the ending, but this dream felt so real, I thought that it wasn't a dream at all. I reached out to the weapon that had always suited me best.

As I reached for the sword a voice whispered in my head…

_The power of the warrior,_

_Invincible courage,_

_A sword of terrible destruction,_

_Is this the power you seek?_

"Yes. I take this sword in hopes that it will be used for good, and not evil." I said aloud.

But this time, instead of asking me what I would give up, the pedestals just disappeared and I was thrown to the middle of the stained glass area. The outside rim started to collapse and the collapsing rushed inward. The glass below my feet fell, and, it was almost comical, I seemed to hang for a moment before falling myself. Blackness took me again.

* * *

I awoke on another stained glass circle of light. This time it was blue. Now that I could tell that this was Kingdom Hearts, I knew that this one was Cinderella. I was admiring the glass when I noticed a shadow on the glass in the corner of my eye. 

"Heartless!" I thought. Somehow, something "clicked" in my mind and suddenly my sword was out in front of me. The Shadows attacked in their strange, jumpy fashion. I fought them off with my new sword, only attacking when I had to, and defending as much as possible. "Leave me alone!" I shouted as I fought off a very ferocious attack.

And to my utter surprise, they left, dissolving into shadows that soon disappeared. Stairs appeared on one side of the glass. I followed it, and I soon discovered that about three steps behind me, the steps started to disappear. I followed the path up, not really caring about my way back being blocked.

As I reached the next window, I heard a voice in my head again and I knew exactly what it was going to say.

_The closer you get to the light…The greater your shadow becomes._

A light appeared and my shadow grew. It rose up from the floor and still it grew.

"But this time, I have no reason to fight my Darkside." I said stepping forward, touching the shadow near where the heart would have been. "There is no point in us fighting as we are equal in strength and defeating one means defeating the other. I accept the darkness as a part of me, and in me shall darkness and light be equal." The darkness came into me and I felt as if I was the large Darkside and myself at the same moment.

_Through both darkness and light shall the neutral shade be born, and only with this one can the door of light be opened._

The Darkside shrunk and became my normal shadow again. A pillar of light appeared and I stepped into it. I was swept up to another glass window, but instead of landing on it, it seemed as though I was watching from a distance. There on the glass stood a person wrapped in a black cloak. I could tell that it was a boy. He was staring at a silver door in front of him. He pulled out a silver weapon of some sort. As I looked closer, I could tell that it resembled a key.

"A Keyblade?" I thought. "Silver? It's…Sora!"

He pointed the Keyblade at the door, but when something should have happened, nothing did. The Keyblade then turned into a silver blur as he ferociously attacked the door. I knew that what he was doing was futile, and I could tell that he knew it as well. Then the whole world seemed to zoom in and suddenly I was standing next to him.

"Let me help." I whispered, yet I knew he could hear it.

I felt a power swell up inside me, and I knew what I wanted to do with it. It swelled to the reaches of my limits and I let it spill over. I took it all and threw it at the door, shouting "OPEN!"

Sora gave me a look like "why didn't you increase my powers?"

I turned to him. "The power of your Keyblade lays in you; there is nothing I can do about its power." I turned back to the door, "Now open it."

He nodded, and then tried to open the door once more.

An intense light blinded me, and I raised my hand to protect my eyes. I heard one more voice in a quick second.

"Thanks Kaitlyn."

"Riku?" I asked, surprised, but only kind laughter answered me.

* * *

"Kaitlyn?" 

"Huh?" I asked. I blinked and realized that I was in the library at school.

My friend Sarah stood next to me shaking me. "English is over. Didn't you hear the bell ring?" She sighed. "Sleeping again? How far are you this time?"

I gathered up my stuff sleepily and realized she was talking about the project. "Oh, yeah, well, I've only got about another night of research and then I can start putting it all together." I sighed as well. "But right now my mind's on this dream I just had."

"Really? You slept deep enough to dream?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah. It was really unusual. It was just…really bizarre." I laughed at my allusion to Kingdom Hearts.

"Pull your self back to reality girl. You still have an entire day of classes left to go. But what about guard?" she asked.

"No, no guard today, thank goodness. But you're right." I playfully smacked my face. "Bad Kaitlyn! Wake up girl! Pull your self together!"

We laughed at my antics, then split heading for our separate classes. The rest of my day was a dull as school always is. But all day I couldn't concentrate totally, and that was very bad during colorguard class. But I survived, and I finally made it home.

"What was that dream I had?" I asked as I let myself into the house. "Was it really a dream?"

A thought popped into my head, "Is any of this for real, or not?" I laughed, thinking of how much like Kingdom Hearts this was going to sound. I went about my evening as normal. Doing homework, making sure my sister got off the bus ok and everything.

But that night, something happened that had never happened before.

* * *

I woke up at about one in the morning, and I went and looked out my window. I don't know why, but something drew me to witness this event. I gasped. 

A meteor shower.

"Wow…" I thought, and then the pieces clicked into place. "Oh… no… Heartless!" I put on some clothes quickly and ran downstairs, grabbing my wooden dagger and staff from my room, thinking "A weapon is better than NO weapon". As I reached the downstairs, I felt a cold touch, like a shadow on my heart. I ran into the kitchen, discarding my dagger and staff for a few knives, securing them in my belt loops. I ran into the next room and grabbed an unsharpened sword off the wall.

I approached the door; afraid to see what I hoped was not there, but just as afraid to not look.

And there they were.

Black darker than night.

Glowing yellow eyes.

Three clawed hands reaching for the abundance of hearts here.

The cold feeling of despair that came with them washed over me.

"Oh…no…"

I backed away from the door as Heartless shadows filled the cul-de-sac. Then they weren't just outside anymore. They were there, in my house. I took out a knife and threw it at of the Shadows as it was forming just to make sure that it was real. And then I turned and ran, heading up the stairs, trying to get to my family before more Heartless could come. I looked back as I ran, and saw only Shadows flying at me. I was no match for them, even with metal weapons, and I had no friends to help me. Just as I was about to shout for my family…I sat up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat with the breeze gently wafting over me.

"Oh…my…gosh." I gasped. Shivering, I looked around, and found that the dagger, staff, and sword I had taken were still in my room. "Just a dream, just a dream." I said. "Go back to sleep," I told myself. "Everything will be normal again in the morning." And after tossing and turning for a while, I finally fell back asleep.

* * *

"When you walk away, you don't hear me say…" sang my CD player/alarm clock. 

"How ironic…" I muttered thinking about how weird it was to wake up to something that reminded you of a dream you just had.

I got up and went about my normal getting ready for school process, brushing teeth, getting dressed, putting on make-up and my charm bracelet. While getting ready though, I noticed some scratches on my right leg. Three parallel red lines hurt, a lot, and they seemed recent too. As I checked myself, I noticed more scratches on my shoulder. Colorguard sometimes gave me scratches that I never noticed, so I just blew it off as that. Soon I was ready to go and I headed downstairs to get breakfast and wait for my dad to be ready to drive me to school. Just after I sat down at the table with all of the stuff for my bowl of cereal, fog seemed to fill my vision, and suddenly it cleared and I was somewhere else.

I was walking down a familiar road in the rain. I heard a sound and looked up to the sky.

A great eagle flew across the sky, and after it passed, the rain slowed to a stop.

I heard voices whispering.

"What does it matter?"

"The world has changed."

"I haven't forgotten."

I looked down and saw someone in a black cloak standing ahead of me. The person turned around and laughed a cold, terrible laugh.

"Much lies ahead of you, but…" he chuckled, "it might not be what you expect."

Suddenly I was back at the table, hearing the seconds tick by on the clock. I looked at it, and no time at all had passed, at least not enough for the vision to have been in real time.

"What was…that?" I asked, utterly confused.

I kept thinking about it as I made and ate my breakfast. My dad drove me to school, and I went through my day as normal, again. After school I had practice, but I had about an hour to use before it started. My best friend in colorguard had to go somewhere so I was left to kill time by myself. I headed to the library to see if any of my non-guard friends were there browsing the manga section. As I was walking to the library entrance, I noticed a ladder leading up into the ceiling. I heard sounds coming from up there, at least, that's where it seemed like they were coming. That's when I recalled the stories about the 'third floor' that didn't exist.

"What if it did exist?" I thought. "I have to find whatever it is." I grabbed a hold of the ladder and started climbing.

I pulled myself up into the undiscovered-until-now third floor, and gasped. It was clean, and lit, as though someone was taking care of it.

"The janitors?" I wondered. "Could this be their doing? Wow."

Then I spotted another light, a light different from the light bulbs hanging around. It had an odd coloration to it. Enchanted, I followed the light, but as I got closer, the light faded. When I reached the point where it was, I found a pedestal with a charm on it. There was a light hanging above it.

"Can they not see the light from this charm?" I wondered.

I looked again at the charm. It was a heart with a sun etched on to it.

"Wow…It's beautiful…" I sighed. I reached for it, but as I did, the light suddenly intensified. I held up my hand with the charm bracelet on it up in front of my eyes.

_Remember, Kaitlyn…_said a voice, _Only with you, can one open the door. And only with you, can the other close it. _

I stepped forward, and the floor – or the ceiling- collapsed under me. I fell down, and found myself in the library. Normally a peaceful place, it was thrown into chaos, not just by my fall, but by the appearance of puddles of darkness.

Puddles with bright yellow eyes, and black, clawed hands.

Heartless!

That was when I realized that I didn't have a weapon to fight with. I grabbed some nearby books and got ready. I noticed others doing the same. "Kingdom Hearts fans." I thought. "They must have recognized what these things are."

Then they took form, and showed no mercy in their attack. They reached the others first, jumping and scratching in their strange fashion. The others were forced to retreat and suddenly they were back to where I was. I took one swing at a Heartless, but I knew it was futile.

"Run! There's nothing we can do! Get back!" I shouted.

The others started to run, but one of my friends that had been in there tripped and fell, right in front of a Heartless.

"Jamie!" I shouted.

A Heartless jumped, ready to attack. I rushed to my friend's aide, throwing myself in front of her so she could get away. I held up my hand to block what I could of the attack.

_The door must be opened._ Said that voice again.

Suddenly a bright light appeared, and I heard the sound of something hitting metal. As I looked up, I saw a red and black blade in my hand. The Heartless was recoiling, holding a stump where its wrist should have been.

_Welcome the Key of Heart…_

"A…Keyblade?" I said, stunned. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It was similar to the Kingdom Key with a three pronged crown on top, but instead of a middle prong, it had a red heart. The crown also shaded from black to grey. The pole went from grey at the top to red at the bottom. The hilt/hand guard was shaped like two hearts pointing opposite directions. And on the keychain at the bottom was a heart, as it twirled around, I noticed the sun etched on one side. Then my attention was torn from the keychain by Jamie's shout as the Heartless attacked again.

"Jaime, run!" I yelled as I swept my blade across in front of me to hold off the Heartless while she escaped. I kept slashing at the Heartless while slowly backing up to leave the library. That was when I heard the scream. A high pitched and blood curdling scream. A scream of utmost despair. The Heartless seemed to get excited, and as suddenly as they had appeared, they melted into shadows and left. The Keyblade suddenly disappeared. I felt something on my wrist and looked at it, and there, on the charm bracelet, instead of the charms that I had put on before, there was only the charm I had just found. The heart and sun charm turned as I looked at it, and I now noticed the moon etched on the other side.

"Light and Dark," I thought, "equal and opposite sides of the same coin."

Then I heard another scream. I turned and ran, hoping that somehow someone could save this world from the disaster that had happened.

* * *

Well, there you go. Please RR! Thanks, later! 


	2. Another World, Another Key

Note: Well, here's the reworked second chapter. There's an ironic thing about the science hallway I mention here at the beginning… last year I didn't go down there, but this year I do… and I always see the place where the door is supposed to be. Isn't that strange? So… um… yeah, that's it, so just RR.

* * *

Chapter 2: Another World, Another Key

I raced down the hallway, turning down the nearest stairwell. I followed the commotion of a fight to the science hallway. I turned down one hallway, and it was then that I noticed a door I had never seen before. Now, granted, this wasn't a hallway I frequented, but I had been down here before, and I knew there wasn't supposed to be a door here.

Another student came running down the hallway, and when he saw me, he seemed relieved. "Hey, are there any others with you?" he asked.

"It's just me. Are you alright?" I asked. That was when I noticed the scratches on his legs. His pants were torn and bloody trails in sets of three crisscrossed his legs. I was reminded of the scratches on my own leg and arm.

"Dang, everyone else is gone. I haven't seen anyone." He panted as he approached me. "Those creatures… were all over the place… and now… everyone's gone…"

That was when THEY appeared, loping down the hallway.

"Run!" I yelled, hauling the boy around the nearest corner. "You have to get out of here," I told him, "Run! Now!" I pushed him towards a nearby exit and then turned around the corner to face the Heartless.

"What do you want?" I asked them, "Why have you come here?"

_We come for the heart…_but I had no time to think before they attacked.

I felt something in my head click, and suddenly that Keyblade was in my hands. I looked up at the coming Heartless, a new strength filling me. I slashed as the Heartless reached me, keeping many of them at bay. One slipped by me, and I turned to see it touch the door behind me. It gave me an almost mischievous look as the door opened. A shiver ran up my spine as I looked into the now open door.

It was a terrible and beautiful sight, this heart of our world. Before I could take it all in, I saw a shadow moving quickly towards the glowing heart.

"No!" I shouted, "Leave it alone! Don't…"

I stepped forward to stop it, but suddenly I was pulled by a strong force, and thrust backwards into darkness. I tried to fight it, but in the end, I was beaten, tired and sore. I had no choice but to give in and let my consciousness fade.

* * *

"So what are we gonna do with her?" said a duck like voice.

"I don't know. Should we tell someone?" asked another voice.

"Nah. Someone would get in trouble. Let's wait here till she wakes up." Said another voice.

"Ducks," I thought, "why do their voices have to quack in such a harsh way? It's hurting my head." I sighed.

"Is she awake?" asked a voice.

I opened my eyes, and found myself staring into the white face of a young duck.

"What the...!" I shouted, leaning back. I found myself leaning against a wall though, so I couldn't move far. I looked past the duck and saw that there were two others there too.

"It's ok," said the closest duck as he backed up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." I stood up and looked around. I noticed that this place was strangely familiar, like I had seen it in a picture. I turned to them. "Where am I?" I asked.

"You are in the castle of King Mickey," said the duck in the blue shirt. "And I'm Dewey."

The one in the red shirt spoke up, "I'm Huey."

"I'm Louie," said the one in green. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, shaking their hands, um…wings. I turned and looked out over the balcony near where I had seemingly landed. "So this is Disney Castle." I sighed.

Then I remembered what had happened. I backed up and put my back against the wall again. I slid down until I was sitting again. I pulled my knees up and rested my head on them. Then I let the emotion go. I cried for my friends whose hearts had been lost, I cried for my world that had fallen into darkness, and I cried for myself, my stupidity at not realizing that the door had led to the heart of my world.

"If only I hadn't been so stupid!" I shouted. "It's all my fault! If I had just locked that door, my world would still be safe. And I didn't do anything! I just watched! And now, because of me…" I sighed, "My world is gone!"

Then I heard a voice in my head. "It's ok, Kaitlyn." I felt a strange, and yet familiar presence in my head. "It's not your fault. The only thing you can do is fight the darkness. Don't let despair consume you. Everything will be ok." The voice laughed. "And say hello to Queen Minnie for us." I heard the smile in the voice. "We'll see you soon."

"Huh?" I asked, but the voice and the presence were gone.

"'Huh?' what?" asked one of the ducks, Dewey I remembered.

"Nothing," I stood, "I'm feeling better now. Is there a way I can get an audience with Queen Minnie?" I asked.

They seemed surprised that I knew about audiences and Queen Minnie. If only they had known about all the medieval time period books I had read. They looked at each other, and then nodded.

"First, you're going to need some new clothes," said Huey.

"And we know just who to go to," finished Louie.

I looked at my clothes and realized how much of a mess I was. My mismatched practice clothes were all nasty and sweaty from running so much. My hair was a mess too. I laughed and followed them out a door.

* * *

They led me through the halls, until we stopped in front of one of the many doors lining the hallway. They opened the doors and pulled me in. We went up to a white wardrobe with gold lining.

"We need your help," said Dewey.

"She needs clothes for an audience with the Queen," said Louie.

What I thought was just a carving, turned out to be a face that brightened when it saw me. "Well, let's see what we can do with you," smiled the wardrobe.

That was when I realized that this was the enchanted wardrobe from Beauty and the Beast. She opened her door and pulled me close. The ducks waved and left, closing the door behind them.

As she pulled me into all the clothes, she said, "So…an audience with Queen Minnie…hmmm…let's see."

Clothes were flying around me. It seemed like there was more space inside than should have been possible. I felt things go over my head, going on and off me, everything flying and rushing around. Suddenly I was pushed out and able to see myself. I was wearing the perfect outfit for what I had become. I had on a short white tank-top with a longer black jacket open over it. The jacket had a lot of pockets on it and the arms were short enough to show the charm bracelet on my wrist. The inside of the jacket was red. My pants were white with black bottoms and they had more pockets as well. I also had short boot-like shoes on that had zippers on the side to keep them on. The clothes were all slightly form-fitting, but not enough to be uncomfortable; actually it was all very comfortable and very easy to move in.

"It's perfect," I told the wardrobe. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. But we're not done yet."

I felt my hair and realized what she was talking about. I laughed and sat down in front of a vanity mirror that was in the room as well. The drawers in the vanity opened on their own, and out came several pairs of scissors, a brush, a comb, and many other hairstyling tools.

"So what do you want, dear?" asked the wardrobe.

I thought for a moment while the scissors quivered in excitement. "I want something that's easy to take care of and won't get in my face during a battle. But I still want it slightly long."

"Ok, deary. That's no problem. We know just what to do." And with that, they went to work on my hair. They started cutting and brushing, but when the hairspray started misting, a pink haze hung around my head. I started to cough, but then I heard the wardrobe say, "Finally! All done."

The spray cleared and I saw myself. It was perfect. So many perfect things on a day that had started so terrible. My hair was done in a French-braid style on the top and sides, but it came together in the back as a ponytail.

"It's wonderful!" I exclaimed. "Just what I wanted!"

"And now you're ready for the audience with Queen Minnie," said the wardrobe. We heard a knock on the door. "And just in time too," She finished.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie came in and congratulated me on my new look, and they thanked the wardrobe for her help in getting me ready.

Then they turned to me, all formal, and Louie announced, "You are summoned to your requested audience with Queen Minnie." He started.

"Please, follow us, and we will take you to her," finished Dewey.

* * *

They led me through the hallways, twisting and turning so much that I got lost when I couldn't see the door to the room where the wardrobe was staying. Eventually, we came to a huge door. It seemed to be about 30 feet tall. I wondered if we were really going to open that large of a door just for me, but then Huey went up and opened a smaller door on the side.

We went in and Dewey announced, "The Lady Kaitlyn."

I pulled together all of my knowledge about courts in medieval times and put on my best knight-like act.

There in front of me, were Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy. I was surprised, but I didn't let it show.

"Your Majesty, please. I am no lady." I bowed. "A lady knight, if you must, but not a lady." I took a breath and prepared to explain everything. "I am from another world," I started. "Heartless came to my world one day, right after I found this." I stood and held out my hand. I then summoned my Keyblade to it.

"Wow!" gasped Daisy.

"So," said Queen Minnie, "you are a Keyblade wielder as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I now hold the Key of Heart. I know not what it is called, but I know that I must use it for good." I sighed. "I've lost my world, and I must now find a way to restore it. I have a request." I bowed again. "May I acquire a gummi ship so that I may continue my quest?"

"Why of course," responded Queen Minnie immediately. "I just have one thing I need you to do. But first, come with us and enjoy a meal. We will not send you off on an empty stomach." We all laughed as my stomach loudly agreed with her statement.

* * *

We went into a room near the back of the throne room. I heard feet running as we entered and assumed that someone must have seen us coming and was going to prepare the food. We sat down at the long table in there with Queen Minnie at the head, Lady Daisy on her left, and I on her right.

While we were waiting, Queen Minnie asked me, "You said that you did not know what your Keyblade was called, correct?" I nodded. "Have you ever tried communicating with it?" she asked.

"I have had very little peace, but in any case, I had no idea that I could." I informed her.

"Try it."

I nodded and closed my eyes, concentrating on my Keyblade that I had propped up in the chair next to me. _What should I call you, Key of Heart?_ I asked.

I then felt a presence, strong and full of life, in my head, unlike any other that I had had before.

I heard a voice reciting a poem:

_Out from the bleak grey ashes,  
wreathed in eternal flaming flight,  
rises the crimson phoenix's heart  
reborn anew in everlasting light_

_I am the Phoenix's Heart. _said the voice.

"Phoenix's Heart." I said aloud. "That's what it's called."

"Ah," said Daisy. "In that case, I have something to give you." She reached into a hidden pocket in her dress and pulled out a small box. She opened it and showed us the three Keychains inside. "I was told to give these to the one who brought the Phoenix. I was told that that person would be able to find the true owners of these."

She held out the box and I reached in and pulled them out. The first was a silver claw hanging from its middle on the chain. It seemed incomplete. Another was a gold spiraling horn with scales attached to it. The last was made of a black metal that seemed to absorb light. It was shaped like a flame and it had a silver claw on it.

"Why didn't you tell me about these?" Queen Minnie asked Daisy.

She looked down "I was told not to tell any until the Phoenix had come. But I wanted to tell you. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." A bell rung and a door I hadn't noticed opened. "Ah, the food is here. Let's eat, and then we will get you packed and ready to go." Queen Minnie said to me.

We ate and talked about things, like where I was from and the similarities between my world and theirs. I also found out that it had been about two years since Mickey left. Soon it became evident that I knew a lot about their world, and they asked me how I knew.

"Um…well," I stumbled on my words, not sure of what to say. "In my world, well…" then a good idea hit me. "We've had communication with King Mickey. He is liked by many all across the world. I find it strange that this is called Disney Castle because the King's first friend in our world was a man by the name of Walt Disney. He was a great person. We also know of both of you." I told them. "We've heard of the adventures of Mickey. Also of Sora, Riku, Kingdom Hearts, the Keyblade, and the Heartless. I'm not sure how we found out all this with out seeing any Heartless or anything, but I know quite a lot about it all."

"Wow," breathed Daisy, astonished.

We finished and soon the plates were taken away and one of the walking brooms, who seemed to be the servants around here, brought me a bag with supplies in it.

"Thank you so much, Queen Minnie." I said.

"Don't worry about it. Just follow your heart, and please, bring back King Mickey," she said.

I nodded and followed one of the brooms out another door and down a stairwell. I recognized it from the beginning of the game Kingdom Hearts when Donald and Goofy were going to their gummi ship. When we reached the bottom, the broom opened a large door and inside there was the gummi ship hanger. Chip and Dale were in the operation room doing final preparations to the ship before it took off. I couldn't put into words how thankful I was of the people here who had helped me. I looked around for a last time and then boarded the gummi ship.

The comm. unit came on and I heard a chipmunk voice say "Ready for take off! Destination?"

"Traverse Town." I replied.

The comm. unit went off and I strapped myself into a seat that I found in the cockpit. I heard the noise of a big metal door opening, and then my heart and stomach jumped up to my throat as the gummi ship dropped. All I wanted to do was a Goofy-"whooohoohoo hooooooooo." I laughed thinking of it. Then I saw what it looked like between the worlds. It was nothing like the game had been, because there was no way to capture it. It was a mix of colors, blues, purples, greens, all blending and mixing along with light and darkness. All around, though, were stars. Little lights full of life, even though you couldn't see it, you could feel it. Then I felt something different, a blocked kind of feeling. That was when the gummi ship started to slow, and I realized what that feeling meant. I had reached Traverse Town, a world that had been locked by Sora two years ago.

* * *

The gummi ship landed on an empty square and when I got out, it shrunk and disappeared. I knew I could get to it again though. I looked around to familiarize myself with the place, and I realized that I was in First District, a place I knew very well. I headed straight for the accessory shop hoping that, by some odd chance, Cid might have come back.

I entered the accessory shop, but to my dismay, it was another person running the shop. He must have seen my disappointed look because he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I told him. "I was looking for the former owner of this place. Do you know where he might be?"

"No. I don't even know who you're talking about. But I have seen some strange people around here. Maybe they can help you?" He asked.

"I don't know. Can you tell me where to find them?"

He nodded. "They would be at the hotel in Second District. You know," he said, "I haven't seen these kind of unusual folks since…well, about to years ago."

I looked at him. "You have no idea," I said. Then I felt a shadow pass over me, like when the sun goes behind a cloud. "Heartless." I whispered. "Guess I'm going to have to go take care of them." I hefted up the Phoenix's Heart onto my shoulder and I turned to walk out the door.

"Wait!" called the man. "I've seen a weapon like that before."

"Really?" I asked. _Has Sora been here recently?_ I thought.

"Yeah, but it was a dark gray color. It also had black on it." He shuddered. "The person wielding it was frightening. He had black, spiky hair and he looked sad, and yet, angry. Vengeful even. He had an aura, even I could feel it and I was several feet away from him. He was just really scary." He shuddered again.

"Thanks for the info. Be careful."

"You too."

As I left, I felt another shadow, but this one was different. It was physical, not mental like the Heartless. I looked up at the tops of the buildings and I thought I saw something move up there. I couldn't be sure so I shrugged it off and headed for the hotel and Second District.

* * *

Note: Hey y'all! Well, this is going quickly… two chapters redone in one day! YAY! On to the next one!

Don't forget to RR!


	3. Trinity Come

Note: Here are the new characters, finally. I own them both, well, except for Tala's personality. That would be all Jessica's. And Kayla, I didn't get to the thing I had for you. Sorry. It'll come up soon as it fits in. I don't own one of the riddles; I got it from the book Tithe by Holly Black. I have Kaitlyn to thank for getting me that book. And thanks to The Wielder of Big Words for the Green Glass Doors. Thank you to everyone on for your support and help. And thanks to anyone who's ever listened to me rant and rave over this or other things. You guys are life saviors. Ok, enough appreciation for one chapter. On with the story!!!

Chapter 3: Trinity Come

I followed the man's advice and went to the hotel in Second District. As I entered, I heard sounds coming from one of the rooms. It was the sound of fighting. I wasn't sure if Heartless were here, though nothing had ever stopped them from going in those rooms before, but I went to check anyway. I knocked, but they didn't respond. I entered and I had to jump aside to avoid being hit by a staff.

"Whoa!" I shouted, throwing myself aside. "Are you trying to kill me?" I asked my attacker.

"Sorry. I thought you were coming for me."

A hand came down and I grabbed it. She pulled me to my feet and I looked up. The first thing I noticed about her was her ears. She had little cat ears that moved and turned on her head. She had yellow-green eyes with slit pupils like a cat's, and a nose that, though human, looked strangely cat-like. She had shoulder length hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing an army green shirt with a tan vest over it and army green shorts. She had no shoes because her feet were feline and clawed. She also had a tail that twitched as she looked at me, studying me the way I must have been looking at her. Besides the staff she had tried to hit me with, she had two swords and I noticed a bow and quiver lying in the corner behind her.

I stuck out my hand. "My name's Kaitlyn. Nice to meet you."

She looked puzzled, but she reached out to shake my hand. "I'm Furrah." She said. Even her voice was cat like, with a strange but beautiful purr in it.

"I'm sorry for barging in like that." I started. "I just heard sounds of a fight and thought that someone might have been attack by the Heartless. They've been here before, and I know they're here now."

She looked at me, "But, where's your weapon?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," I held out my hand away from her. "Here it is." I summoned the Keyblade to my hand.

She looked very surprised. "I had heard that there was magic on other worlds, and I have seen some, but none like this."

I laughed. "This isn't really magic. I don't know any yet. This is just what this weapon does. It's called a Keyblade. It can open anything, and lock many things as well." I flicked my wrist and the Phoenix's Heart disappeared.

"On my world," started Furrah, but she stopped and went silent.

"Did your world disappear too?" I asked.

"Yes. I was the one who found the door. I opened it, and then..." she sighed, "a shadow flew by and then, I was here. I've been here for three moons already."

"Moons?" I asked, and then I remembered from the books I had read, "Oh, that's what we call months, or something close to that." I sighed too. "I lost my world too. I found the door to my world's heart as well, but I didn't open it. I could have locked it though." I sat down on the bed and looked down at the floor. "But I ran. I didn't know I had the power to lock it, but then again, I did. I knew about the Keyblade and what it could do. And yet I did nothing. Now I'm trying to find a way to bring back my world. I know of another who wields a weapon like mine. I hope to find him and get his help." Furrah sat down next to me and I turned to her. She looked like I felt.

Sad and alone from our different worlds, we sat there and felt better through each other's presence.

Eventually, Furrah turned to me and asked, "May I go with you, and to where ever it is you might be going?"

I looked up. "Of course. I'd feel better with you too. And yet," I said, "I feel like there is something missing. Close, but somehow I'm just missing it."

"I'm not sure what you mean. But maybe I do feel it. Maybe I've just felt it all my life. I've never quite fit in, in my world. But that was why I trained to be the best. So that even if I didn't fit in, I would still be respected."

"Well, before we leave to go where ever the wind takes us, let's get to know each other. Who'll go first?" I asked.

"How about you?" she said.

"Ok." I told her about everything. Well, I stuck with the story about communicating with King Mickey in my world, but I told her everything else. How I found the Keyblade, how my friends and I were attacked by the Heartless, whom she called the Dark-ones, and about how I found myself in the Disney castle.

"So that weapon is the Keyblade?" she asked. "I think it's like a weapon in a legend on my world. The legend tells of a man who found this blade of gold on a pedestal in a cave on a mountain. He found out the power of the blade and he tried to use it for good. But power corrupted him, and he plunged the world into what was know as the Forever Winter, a time of cold during every turn, a time of little light. The man had a son, and eventually, when the son was fourteen turns, he went into the room where the blade was kept, and there, he took the blade and claimed it for himself. He used it for good, and when he had righted what could be done, he let the blade go. It left him of its own accord, but he did not hold it back. The world was returned to normal, and now life goes on." she sighed again, "well, life did go on, until the Dark-ones came. Now, I'm here, with the new wielder of the blade and I will follow her through darkness and light, because I believe that you are like the son, and that you will lead the way to good, not evil."

"Thanks. We've both had a hard time haven't we?" I said.

"Yeah," she answered. "But there's nothing like action to take your mind off sad things. That's why I was practicing. Because when I practice, I forget about everything and I feel better."

"I understand. Since that is very true, why don't we go ahead and leave this place. There's nothing more to do here, is there?" I asked.

"No, there's nothing left." She grabbed her weapons and stood. "Ready whenever you are."

I went to the door to the balcony. "Why don't we go this way? It's faster. We'll just go through the secret waterway and we can get to the Magician's house really fast. He's the one person here that I think can help us."

We jumped off the balcony and I was surprised to land on my feet stylishly. The Keyblade had increased my abilities, making me stronger and faster. Furrah of course, being part cat, landed on all fours, gracefully. We ran towards the entrance to the secret waterway but that's when _they_ appeared.

The pools of darkness formed first and then the shadows came.

"Dark-ones!" shouted Furrah. "Do we run for it?"

"No! We'll fight them. I want to test our power. Then we'll run for it. Ok?" I shouted.

"Ok!" She whipped out her swords and took a fighting position.

I summoned the Phoenix's Heart and prepared to test my strength. They attacked, and we dodged. Before the Heartless could recover I swung the Phoenix and struck them. One jumped at me and I swung my Keyblade several more times at it. On the third hit it disappeared in a puff of smoke and a small flash of light. I sliced at the next one and removed and arm before slicing it until it disappeared. I took a quick glance over at Furrah and I saw that she was handling it all quite well. She was fast and agile, dodging blows and making many of her own. Several puffs surrounded her, giving her an angel of war look.

I felt a burn on my leg and I saw three new scratches crisscrossing the older ones. I sliced the attacker and with my anger, defeated him in one hit. Suddenly we heard a howl, and the Heartless melted and left.

"That howl came from the waterway!" I shouted.

"Let's go!" Furrah shouted back, and we ran into the secret waterway at the end of the alley.

* * *

We entered the waterway and heard a strange, resounding howl. There, in the middle of the path, was a black wolf. It looked as though it had laid down in white paint though. Its feet were white and so was its belly. It had a white tipped tail and a single white spot on its nose. It also had eyes of a deep emerald color, so deep you could fall into them. It howled one more time, and then did something amazing.

It turned into a blonde haired, emerald eyed girl.

She had on a black tank top with a white blaze down the front of it. She had black Capri pants with the blaze continued down them halfway. She had on moccasin like shoes that were white. She also had white armbands, like what you would use for archery. She also had a magpie feather with some black and white beads in her hair. She had two sai, one hooked in each side of her belt. She also had a long sword in a sheath on her back. She seemed to feel natural in either form she used. She was proud, a fighter all the way through, but a smart fighter. She also had the look of a wise person, or at least a quick thinking, logical person.

"Are you here to see the Magician?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know of a way to his house through there." I pointed behind her.

"You are mistaken." She said. "There is nothing that way but a solid wall. I have checked myself."

"Ok. Thanks. We'll need to go the other way then."

We turned to leave, but then I heard a whoosh of something moving fast and the wolf girl landed in front of us.

"Don't leave yet. I have one more thing to say." She pointed at us, "I challenge each of you to a test of skill."

"I accept. That is one thing our cultures seem to share," Furrah said. At my confused look she explained. "A test of skill, or a challenge, is exactly that. Two people compete to see who is better at something. It can be anything, archery, sword skills, even painting. It can be one or two events as well. Challenges are used to either size up a future opponent, or to prove a point. They can also determine acceptance into a clan." I must have still seemed confused because Furrah said, "Let me show you." She turned to face to wolf girl and bowed. "What is your challenge?"

"For you, a test of strength. To the blood." She put her emerald gaze on me, "I have a challenge for you as well. But in a moment." She turned back to Furrah. "Are you ready?" she asked grabbing the hilt of her sai.

"Whenever you are," responded Furrah, pulling out her staff.

They started to circle each other, each taking even steps, matching the other, move for move. Furrah made the first move, with a light feint towards the wolf girl. The girl didn't even blink. Then, suddenly she responded with her own move. She pulled out a sai and flew at Furrah. Furrah was hard pressed to block the attacks, but she did. Then they erupted into a fury of blows so fast and hard that they were almost impossible to watch.

They were so even in levels that neither could make a hit. They were both tiring, but they wouldn't stop. I could see that this was only going to end badly.

"Stop it!" I yelled, but neither noticed. "Stop it now!" and still no response.

The waterway was a little humid, but then it suddenly got hotter. I closed my eyes and something inside me seemed to open, like a door to some unknown power had suddenly unlocked. I felt like I was on fire, but it was only for a moment. I opened my eyes and saw that I was surrounded by the fire I had felt. It touched me but did not burn. It was like it was part of me, just a part I had never known. I felt something touch my back and somehow I knew that now I had red fire-wings on my jacket and shirt.

"That's enough!" I shouted one last time.

The new-found power swelled within me. I took it into my hands and used it to pull the two combatants apart. They hung suspended in the air. I lowered them until both were on the ground. I released the power and with it went my strength. I fell down onto one knee and stayed there just breathing.

"Kaitlyn!" Furrah shouted, coming over to me.

I looked around and noticed that the girl had turned into a wolf again. I wondered why, but then, the rest of my strength left me and I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

This horrible stench was placed under my nose, and I woke up coughing.

"What the hell is that stuff?" I asked, letting some of my colorguard-ness slip out.

"It's called the Gull Feather plant. This is only a light mixture. Some of the stronger stuff is guaranteed to wake the dead." I then noticed that it wasn't Furrah's voice. This voice had more of a growl in it.

I looked up into the face of the wolf girl. She stood up and held out her hand.

"I'm Tala." I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. "That was an amazing display of power. Did you know you could do that before then?" She asked.

"No, I didn't know. I just did it. And my name's Kaitlyn. Thanks for bringing me around though."

"No problem. Are you ready for your challenge?" she asked.

"Well," I looked a Furrah and she gave me an "it's up to you" look, "Yeah. I'm ready."

"Ok. I have some riddles for you. The first:

_What's felt and seen,_

_But cannot be touched,_

_Forever, a second,_

_Affected by none?"_

I thought hard. _Ok, I can feel wind, but I can't see it, it's not that. Something that lasts a long time, and yet no time at all. What can't I change? _I thought back to everything I had done. _I've always wished I could go back in time and change something. _Then it hit me. _That's it! It's been here all along._ "Time," I said aloud, "the answer is time."

She nodded. "Now can you give me one?"

"Ok. This is one I've heard before.

_What belongs to you, and yet others use it more than you do?"_

She crossed her arms and thought. She suddenly turned back into a wolf, and I figured out why she did that. _It's to hide her emotions. A wolf doesn't show emotion, so when she doesn't want others to see the emotion on her face; she turns into a wolf to hide it._

She turned back and said, "My name. That is the answer."

I nodded and she thought for another moment for the next riddle.

"_What hides in plain sight with day light around,_

_But when darkness falls, is nowhere to be found?"_

I closed my eyes, focusing on the riddle. _Plain sight..._I opened my eyes again, searching for a clue. _If it hides in plain sight, then it just might be in here. There's no daylight here, but light should do it, shouldn't it? _I looked around, and noticed Furrah's shadow as her tail twitched.

"Shadow," I said.

"Correct. Your turn," she responded.

"Ok, this is one I heard from a friend.

_You can take certain things through the Green Glass Doors,_

_You can take darkness but not light,_

_You can take the Heartless, but not me or the Keyblade,_

_You can take brightness, but not shadow,_

_You can take a puppy but not a dog,_

_You can take a tree but not the bark,_

_You can take an arrow, but not a bow,_

_You can take feelings but not anger or love,_

_Now tell me, what else can you take through the doors?"_

She turned back into a wolf, and still she seemed to be concentrating hard. I sighed, thinking of how long it took me to figure this one out. I gave silent thanks to my friend and all the others who had helped me with out anyone knowing how much it would really help. I realized that I missed getting on the computer and chatting with my friends. I missed my family and my dog. All my friends and the familiarity I felt back home. It was then that I wished the most that I could do like Tala and hide my emotions in another form.

As sigh took me from my memories back to the present time. Tala stood again in human form, looking sad and mad at the same time. The first emotions I had seen on her face. "I cannot figure it out. These items have no relation. I give up. You win." She looked only sad now. "What do you want me to do?"

I looked a Furrah questioningly.

"When a challenger looses, the winner gets to tell the looser what to do. It could be anything, exile, death, whatever the winner wants."

I nodded. "Tala." She looked up. "I wish for you to come with us. Join us on our quest to defeat the Heartless."

"Of course. Thank you." She responded almost at tears it seemed like.

"It was nothing. Your skills are amazing; I wouldn't have had it any other way." I turned but then stopped. "By the way..." I looked at her sideways. "What were you going to ask for if you won?"

She smiled. It was a nice smile, not like one that would come from a wolf. "Exactly what I got. I now. It's a strange feeling, but good."

Furrah spoke up, "Me too. I also felt it when I joined up with Kaitlyn. I think this was meant to be."

"It's happened before. Keyblades cause Trinities to form. Sora, another Keyblade wielder, has two friends with him, Goofy and Donald. Now, our Trinity is complete."

"So, we're going to see the Magician correct?" she asked. I nodded. "Then let's get going!"

And at that we raced off back into the alleyway.

* * *

"They're back..." I said, as the Heartless appeared. As I raised my hand to summon the Phoenix's Heart, I saw my bracelet glow. I felt a new power growing in me and I summoned my Keyblade, but when it formed, it has a different look to it. The keychain was three swirled lines that formed a triangle in the middle from which it hung. The handle was a circle with indentions in it on the sides and the top had three prongs. They were a tooth, a claw, and a heart.

A voice in my head spoke, _The connected tooth, heart, and claw. We are the Ties of Friendship. May your life be balanced..._ and the voice faded.

The sound of Heartless Soldiers breaking into this world brought me back to now. I hefted my new blade prepared to test its strength and my abilities. I heard a growl and the scrape of a blade coming out of its sheath.

"Let's get them!" I yelled. I was answered by a wolf howl and a cat growl.

We rushed them, hacking, slashing and biting our way through them. Limbs and a strange black substance flew everywhere, and as the Heartless were struck down by the Ties of Friendship, they disappeared in small flashes of light. As I hacked down a soldier, I felt clod eyes watching me. At a small halt in the fighting, I looked up, but saw only a flash of fabric, and I could almost feel the gust left by the person moving.

_I need to find out who that is._ I thought, but then the appearance of a large Heartless brought me back to the fight.

"We can't do this much longer!" yelled Tala and I realized that I was breathing hard and very tired.

"We need to get away from here!" shouted Furrah.

"Follow me!" I yelled back, before taking off towards Second District.

The large body followed us but fell behind as we picked up speed. More Heartless came but we just forced our way through, going as fast as we could, without worrying about destroying them all. We raced around a corner and I felt a strange wind blow by me. I heard the sound of small splashes of water and when I looked over my shoulder, the Heartless following us were gone.

"Well, that takes care of one problem," said a voice.

_All Alone staring out watching her life going by_

_When her days are grey and her nights are black_

_Different shades of mundane_

_And the one eyed furry toy that lies upon the bed_

_Has often heard her cry_

_And heard her whisper out a name long forgiven, but not forgotten_

_You're forgiven, not forgotten_

_-Forgiven, Not Forgotten_, The Corrs

Note: I know, I know. MAJOR cliffhanger. I'm working on Chapter 4 already. I had to shorten what I wanted to do in Chapter 3, so I changed the name of the chapter and ended it. I know where Chapter 4 is going to end so I should be able to finish it faster. Well, I'm going to go work some more. Later!


	4. Leap of Faith

Note: This is the LONGEST chapter I've ever written. It's amazing. That's also why it took so long for me to get it up. I thank everyone for their pactience and for leaving reviews on other stuff (now go read "Darkness' Eyes"!). There are several new characters, some of which I own. So my friends know, Tala Jessica, Furrah I really have no idea, Kaitlyn me, Valona Kayla, and most other characters are not owned by me or are like Furrah, where I have no real idea. Well, thanks to everyone who's supported me. Now, on with the story!!

Chapter 4: Leap of Faith

"That takes care of one problem." He said, and then he turned to me. "But there's still one left." He gave an extravagant bow. "Congratulations Keybearer, for coming this far. But you're not going anywhere else."

"Why? You don't think you can stop us do you?" I asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not." He said.

He held out his hand and I got a very strange feeling. Then I saw what had flown by me a minute ago. It was a Keyblade made of a strange black glass that glowed with an inner flame, like the kind of fire that burns in the eyes of one who has seen much sorrow and has sworn vengeance for it. The top was a black flame, and the hilt was curved to a spike like old gothic gates.

"I too wield a Keyblade. Mine was passed to me when the previous wielder..." anger flared in his eyes when he stopped. "It doesn't matter anymore." He pointed his Keyblade at me. "You're what matters now." He looked at Tala and Furrah. "You two stay out of this. This is none of your concern."

"Stay back." I told them. "I can handle him."

He held his Keyblade in a fighting stance and charged me.

I blocked it with the Phoenix's Heart and returned with a blow of my own. He paused and gave me a strange smile, one that froze my insides and made my heart jump up to my throat.

"The name is Luc."

He slashed and I parried. We continued fighting, jumping and slashing, parrying and circling, thrusting and deflecting. Then he charged in really close and I was barely able to block his attack. He pushed me down to my knees, and I wondered for a moment what would happen when his strange Keyblade touched me.

"Are you afraid?" He asked. "I don't know if you should be or not. I've never tested this Keyblade on a person before. I have no idea what it does. Oh, but don't worry. I'm not going to test it on you." He flipped backwards and landed out of my range. "I must leave you now and continue on my own quest. I will see you again." He bowed.

A puddle of darkness surrounded his feet, and from it grew a black shape. If it got up on its hind feet it would have been as big as the Behemoth on Kingdom Hearts had been.

"Meet my pet, Tygris. She's been waiting to meet you," Luc said from the back of the large Heartless.

It was a huge tiger shaped shadow. Flame sprouted from each ankle and the neck. Tufts of flame also came off of each ear and the tip of each of its five tails. Its eyes were not red or yellow, as might be expected, but a deep, dark green. There was something peaceful and caring in those eyes, like a light shining out from the darkness.

"Do what you want with them," Luc said, petting the tiger, "But don't forget to finish it. Have fun." He vaulted off Tygris' back and he ran into a portal that formed in the wall.

The deep green eyes narrowed, and the tiger crouched, preparing to spring. None of us were about to wait for it. I ran forward as it sprang to where we were before. The flames on its feet flared as I went under. I held the Ties of Friendship above my head to block them, getting slightly burned due to the amazing heat.

When the flames abated, I turned and sliced at its tails, but I didn't hit anything. To my complete surprise, my Keyblade passes through it like smoke.

"Oh shit," I muttered. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

Tala and Furrah attacked as well, and I could tell by the looks on their faces, that they had come to the same conclusion.

"One more try!" shouted Tala, charging the tiger. She went for the head, but when she passed through it, she tried to hit anything she could reach. The tiger seemed to be completely smoke; nothing worked at all.

It turned and the fires on it flared, burning Tala lightly. She fell to the ground, got up and backed away holding her wounded leg.

"We need to get out of here!" yelled Furrah.

"This way!" I yelled back, running for the entrance to third district. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Tala stumbling to keep up. "Furrah, keep running! Go to the abandoned house! I'll be right behind you!" I turned back to get Tala.

"Ok!" shouted Furrah, racing off down the alleyway.

"Don't worry about me!" Tala called.

Turning to face Tygris, I pulled out my Keyblade. "Get going Tala! As fast as you can! I'll hold it off!"

She nodded and turned into a wolf, quickly limping off.

I turned to Tygris, "Why?" I asked. "Why do you follow him? Why do you fight?" I addressed the gentleness I saw in its eyes.

_Because he holds my heart..._

"What?!" I yelled, surprised by the fact it could talk and the beautiful voice.

_He does not know, but his heart is not his own. And a part of it lives in me. The darkness is tainted, but the light protects the core. I cannot speak much longer; the darkness is winning...Free the core...and he will fight with now! Quickly!_ It visibly shuddered.

I nodded and took off down the alley. I heard a roar behind me and felt heat rushing down behind me.

I ran through the door to third district, closing it behind me with so little time that the door heated up and my hands got singed.

I leaned back against a nearby wall trying to catch my breath, but I wasn't surprised to see shadows already starting to form. Luck for me the abandoned house was close by.

A Heartless shadow formed and suddenly something was sticking out of its eye.

"Kaitlyn! Hurry!" It was Furrah shooting with her bow out the window. "Quickly! Come in! They won't follow!"

I nodded, running for the house, slicing down the few Heartless that got in my way.

The door opened and I ran inside, Tala closing it behind me. Furrah shot off a few more arrows, then withdrew and closed the window.

"So what happened?" asked Tala.

I returned my Keyblade to its bracelet form and sat on the table in the middle of the one-room house.

"It was strange," I said, pondering how I was going to put this the right way. "When we first saw Tygris, I noticed something...kind, about its eyes. When I turned back to hold it off, I asked it some questions, not expecting what I got. Answers! Tygris said that she fought for him because he held her heart. She said that his heart was not his own, but that it was a light, protecting him from the tainted darkness." I sighed. "I wonder, if it's not his heart, than whose is it? And he doesn't know either. Would that change his mind, if he did know?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it," said Furrah. "We'll figure it all out eventually. For now, let's rest for a while and then go see the Magician."

I nodded, got off the table and sat, leaning against the wall. "We'll be fine in here. The Heartless won't enter here," and with that, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I dreamed of a huge, white door in the middle of a grey path through complete darkness.

_Open it... _a voice called.

_You must..._said another.

_Help us..._this voice was different. _You must let us out. Please, hurry, Kaitlyn!_

"I'm coming!" I cried out, sitting up. I was back in the abandoned house, sitting up with my hand outstretched.

Tala was lying sideways on the floor with one eye open. Obviously she had been awakened by my yell.

"'Dreams that make you scream are real' my people used to say," she told me. "Where ever it is, we'd best be going. It seems like you've promised someone something." She stretched her wolf body and turned to wake Furrah. "It's time to go."

"Ok," Furrah said, stretching as well. "Let's do this."

We pulled out our weapons and started warming up our muscles. We knew we had to be ready for what ever might try to stop us during this last short stretch.

We stepped out into the square, but to our surprise, nothing came at us. That fact alone made me all the more suspicious. I noticed that Tala and Furrah acted the same way too.

I nodded to the railing; silently signaling to them that that was the way we were going down.

I vaulted over the edge, quickly and quietly landing. Tala and Furrah were right beside me. But no amount of secrecy was enough to hide from those who could sense your life force.

A single flame appeared and grew, forming shadowy, clawed feet, quick, flame-tipped ears, and five, fire-whip tails.

"Tygris." I addressed her. "Will you let us pass, or will we have to fight?"

A jet of flame spurting above my head answered my question. Black shadows formed, soldiers popped out of nowhere, and many flying Heartless appeared.

On a spur-of-the-moment thought, I summoned the Phoenix's Heart to my left hand, while keeping the Ties of Friendship in my right.

_Dual-wielding, _I thought, slicing into a soldier and blocking an aerial attack at the same time, _never imagined I'd be doing this._

I turned and sliced another Heartless, jumping and hacking, blocking attacks, and dodging bursts of flames. Then one soldier got inside my guard and slashed me across my shoulder.

"Move!" shouted a voice.

I disbanded the Phoenix's Heart and ran for the wall, holding my shoulder. Tala and Furrah found places to get out of the center of the fight.

"Thundara!" shouted the voice from above me, and lightning struck many Heartless who disappeared in little puffs of smoke.

He jumped down beside me, his white coat flying behind him. He had blonde hair, green eyes, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He lifted a strange- and yet familiar- weapon onto his shoulder.

"Let's get rid of these guys," he said, giving his trademark smirk.

"Ok," I responded, nodding.

"You take care of the smaller ones, and I'll stop the big one."

"Ok, but how? We've been trying for a while."

"I have some magic left; I just hope it can buy us some time to get out of here."

"Tala! Furrah! Attack!" I shouted.

We charged, holding off and destroying the smaller Heartless so that he could get through.

"Blizzard!" he shouted, freezing Tygris as we took out the last of the Heartless.

"This way!" I shouted, running for a door emblazoned with a stylized flame. "A fire spell!" I yelled, pointing at the door.

"Fire!" he shouted, flame erupting from his open hand.

The door opened and we were in. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed behind us.

He held out a gloved hand to me. "Seifer," he said.

"Kaitlyn. Thanks for the help," I answered, shaking his hand. "This is Tala and Furrah. Welcome to Traverse Town, Seifer Alamasy."

"How...?" he started.

"I know a lot more about you, too. You and all the others. Squall, who now goes by the name Leon, Selphie, who lives on Destiny Islands. By the way, where are Raijin and Fuijin? They're always with you."

"When my world was attacked, we all fought together against these strange, new enemies. It was the best. But then, something happened, and everything disappeared," he told us, sounding sad, but still hopeful. "I was knocked unconscious. I must have dreamed though, because I heard a voice. It was a beautiful female voice. She said 'You can do good, but you must try. Put the past behind you and find your own happiness. Take this second chance with open arms.' So, I did. I awoke and found myself here, with all my magic and my gunblade, but I was all alone."

"That happens." I nodded. "Each one of us experienced something similar. That's why we're going to see the Magician, who lives over there," I said, pointing at the shack on the island.

"Let's get going," said Furrah. "Most of our questions will be answered there anyways."

Tala was the first to start to the shack. Her wolf form easily jumped across the rocks leading to the island. We were right behind her. I nearly fell in the water, but Seifer caught me.

"Thanks." I told him.

"No problem," he smiled.

* * *

When we reached the island, a strong wind forced all of us to close our eyes and when it stopped, a girl with feathers down her arms stood in front of us.

"Stop there. You may not enter," she said, her voice like a finely tuned instrument, like a flute or other wind instrument.

"We wish to talk with the Magician. We have battled Heartless and others to get here. Do we have to go through you too?" I asked, pulling out both my Keyblades.

"Valona!" a voice called from the shack. "Let them in. It's a Keyblade wielder and her friends."

The girl- Valona- turned to us. "I apologize. Please, come in."

We followed her in, and I noticed Seifer staring at her. She turned and looked at each one of us.

"Though you may have fought through many challenges, you must still treat the Magician with utmost respect. If you don't..."she left the threat hanging with a look- almost a glare- at each one of us. Except, I noticed, Seifer. They seemed to have a mutual respect- or maybe affection- for each other.

I smiled and nodded, both agreeing to her demands and silently giving my approval.

We entered the shack through a hole in the wall, and when we passed the curtain- that seemed to have been replaced in the last two years- we entered a room that was bigger than the house should have allowed.

An old man sat in a chair at a table in the middle of the room.

"Welcome, Keywielder. You seem to have a problem. The door is still locked, but the Heartless still come."

"Yes. But I am not alone," I told him. "I have my friends Tala and Furrah. My allies Seifer and," I looked at Valona, who smiled and nodded, "Valona. I am Kaitlyn, the wielder of the Key of Heart. And yes, I do have a problem. Luc controls a Heartless Tygris who I have talked with, who says that Luc's heart is not his own. Sometimes Tygris fights us, but we can't land a blow. It's like attacking smoke. Every attack just goes through it."

"But my last Blizzard spell stopped it, if only for a short time," Seifer interjected.

"Well then, I'll give you an edge for your next fight. Come here," he said, waving us all forward. He took my left hand in both of his. "I'll give you all the Blizzard spell permanently. It'll help next time you face Tygris." He did the same to Seifer and Tala, but Furrah refused.

"I'll rely on my own skills. I'll remain amazed by magic, but I don't want to use it myself."

The Magician nodded. "So how will you travel after this?" he asked. "Together?"

"Actually," Valona stated, "I have been thinking about leaving. I think now would be a good time."

"We're okay with anything really," I said.

"Actually, I was planning on going alone," she said, looking at the floor.

"Well..." Seifer started; "um..." he stopped.

Furrah laughed. "What I think he's trying to ask is if he can go with you."

Valona smiled, looking up at him, "Of course."

"But you might have trouble getting around," the Magician interjected, "unless you have a gummi ship." When Valona frowned at this, he smiled a knowing smile. "But of course you can use mine. Cid gave it to me a long time ago, and I have no real need for it."

"Thank you so much!" Valona cried, throwing her arms around the Magician.

"I'm glad to help. For the time you've been with me Valona, I've always thought of you as a daughter. Go follow your heart," he told her.

She released him, and she and Seifer waved goodbye as they left the house.

"Yes, thank you for everything," Tala added.

We started to leave as well, but he called out, "Kaitlyn, please stay a moment longer."

I told the others to go ahead and then I returned to the Magician's side.

"There is something in you blocked off. I wanted to tell you alone, incase you don't want to tell the others." I nodded, understanding. "Do you want me to unveil what it is?"

"I think I already know," I said, thinking of that dream I had had just before all this had begun, and the scratches- Heartless claw marks- on my arm and leg the next morning. "But yes, I would like to know."

He placed his hands on my temples and suddenly I was back in my room. I nearly cried with joy to be back.

Something was controlling me though and I got out of my bed and grabbed my wooden dagger and staff. My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was rushing. I also noticed that it was about one in the morning.

_Something's out there._ I thought.

I walked down the stairs and grabbed a metal sword that was hanging on the wall. It didn't have any sharp edges and now I was wondering why I didn't grab a kitchen knife.

Then they were there, in the street.

"Heartless!" I hissed.

They came in, creeping under the door. They solidified and attacked! I tried to hold them off, but it was a futile endeavor. I ran up the stairs to get help from my family, but I felt a burning cold on the back of my left arm and side of my right leg.

I turned and started to scream, but a gloved hand clasped down over my mouth.

"Hush," said the person behind me. "We don't need to let everyone know _they_ are here. It'll just cause panic. We'll take care of these."

"I...R...i...huh? What?" I asked, both parts of me completely bewildered.

My mind was having a mental debate.

_This didn't happen last time...what's going on?_

And, w_ell, if **they** are real, why couldn't **he** be?_

Suddenly a golden light appeared and went through every Heartless there. They all disappeared and I realized that the light was a golden Keyblade.

"Um...thanks," I managed to say, still very confused.

I noticed that the first person's arms were still on my shoulders. I turned to face him, and even though I knew who it was, I still gasped. He was wearing a black cloak as was the other, which was why I hadn't seen them before. The first person was wearing a blindfold, but his silver hair escaped the hood of his cloak.

"Hi, I'm..." he started.

"Riku. I know." I interrupted.

"How did you...?" I had obviously surprised him.

"I think there's more to her than we thought," said the other person.

"Hello, King Mickey. It's nice to finally meet you," I looked at Riku, "both of you. My name is Kaitlyn." Riku looked ready to say something, but I stopped him. "Before you ask anything, please tell me how you two got here. Last I had heard, you two were behind the door to Kingdom Hearts."

"Ok," said Riku, "But we're owed and explanation about how you know all this." I nodded, and he went on. "You know how in the real worlds, time and space and physics all have rules. Well, in Kingdom Hearts, the number one rule is: all rules can be bent, but not broken. Slowly but surely, everyone who is over there learns to do many amazing things. We can move ourselves to other places and do things you can't normally do. But when the Heartless attacked you, your heart called out for someone to protect you because you will be a Keyblade wielder."

"Me? Really?" The present time me was surprised that I hadn't caught onto this fact by now.

Riku shrugged. "That's the only reason I can come up with. But because of the rules here, no one else would have made it in time. So we were called, and obviously, we arrived just in time."

I smiled, "Yeah, you did. Thanks." He gave me and expectant look, even though I couldn't see his eyes. "Ok, come with me." I took them to the gameroom, where my PlayStation2 had been on from before. I turned on the TV and up came a paused screen of a battle, where Sora was in the middle of slicing down on a Heartless in Hollow Bastion.

Riku pulled off his blindfold, and his eyes grew wide.

"Sora..." he whispered, his green eyes misting over in nostalgia.

I had never noticed how deep those eyes were, or how much emotion could be displayed in one quick glance. I felt like I could fall into those eyes.

"There's more," I told him. I want over to the computer and turned on the screen. My screensaver came up, and pictures of Mickey, Sora, Riku, and others went by. "This is how I know," I told them, "I make it my business to know, as do many others here." I showed him the case of the game Kingdom Hearts. The sarcastic part of me was saying "I'm NOT going to show him my homepage!"

"This is amazing," Mickey said. "I think I've been to this world before. But last time it didn't look anything like this!"

"You probably were here before," I told him. I pulled up the internet, quickly switching to google before my homepage loaded. I typed in "Mickey" and searched for images. His eyes widened as he saw all the pictures.

I noticed that when Mickey had stepped in front of Riku, he had put his blindfold back on. I was sad to see that.

"So, do you have to go back?" I asked them.

"Regretfully, yes, we do," Mickey told me.

"Yes, but I really wish I could stay," said Riku, "but I think we'll be let out of the darkness soon."

Suddenly recalling another dream, I said to them, "I was told, in a dream, that I would be the one who would help to open the door. Do you think that means the door to Kingdom Hearts?" I asked.

Riku shrugged. "Who knows? But we can hope."

A clock in my house chimed twice.

"We need to leave," Mickey told Riku.

He nodded. "I think it'll be best if you forget all this. At least for now." I nodded. I knew that knowing the future wasn't always good. Plus, this had already happened; there was nothing I could do to change it. He placed his hands on my temples and suddenly I was awake in be, my CD player blaring.

"When you walk away..."

The music faded and I was back in the Magician's house.

"Was it what you expected?" He asked.

"Somewhat. Some things really surprised me though. People were there that I hadn't expected."

"Well, I've done all I can to help you," he said.

"And I thank you for all of it. You've helped me to uncover one mystery. Now the rest is up to me and my friends, but I will still remember your help. Thank you." I bowed to him. "I'll visit sometime soon. I promise." I turned and started walking.

"That would be nice," he waved.

I waved back while looking over my shoulder.

* * *

"So what was that about?" asked Tala.

"Dreams," I replied. "Give me a while to think about it. I'll tell you more once I've processed it all."

She nodded and turned to Furrah who was standing looking at the door we had come in.

"It's still there," she said. "It's waiting for us. I can feel it."

"Ok," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Let's go for it!"

"Wait!" Tala stopped me. "A secret weapon is no good unless you can use it. Do you know how to summon a Blizzard spell?" she asked me.

I shook my head, conceding to her point. "Then let's figure it out! We shouldn't waste too much time."

We set up a practice method. After figuring out how to freeze something, we got Furrah to splash water up at us with her staff and we would practice freezing it before it hit either one of us.

We found out quickly how cold that water was. But we quickly got our spells to an adequate level of accuracy and power.

"Are you two done yet?" asked Furrah, obviously bored out of her mind. Splashing water wasn't too much fun when you weren't playing.

"Yeah, I think we can handle this now," I told her. "Ready?" I asked.

"Finally!" they both said.

* * *

We headed to the door, and entered the Third District again. As before, it was deserted, but the moment we stepped out into the main square area, Heartless began to appear.

Small shadows, the larger soldiers, and the flying ones punctuated the area. And in the center of all the activity, was Tygris, ready and waiting.

"No more games," I said. "This ends now." And with that, I charged straight into the mass, with my partners close behind me.

With my two Keyblades whirling, I sliced Heartless to pieces, their strange, black substance flying everywhere. Then, smoke surrounded me. I closed my eyes and my body tensed, waiting for the flames to erupt. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into deep, green eyes. Then came the fire.

It was like when I had come into the Phoenix's power, but not nearly so nice. The flames surrounded me, but they were hateful and bitter fires, not the gentle and comforting ones of the Phoenix. My body was seared, and pain flared everywhere.

The fires multiplied and I screamed as the pain intensified.

"Don't give up!" cried a voice. I wasn't sure if I heard it with my ears or my mind.

Then I recognized it. It was someone I had once liked. We had been going out when my world was destroyed. I had been so caught up in everything, and in trying to push the sorrow of losing my world to the back of my mind, I had also hidden all my memories of him.

"I won't give up, Blake! You know I never will!" And like the mighty Phoenix that was my crest, I rose from the ashes of pain and defeat, and summoning a power I had not known until now, I ripped apart the flames that had nearly consumed me. "This ends now!" I shouted, holding out both hands and summoning every blizzard spell that I could. "Blizzard!" I shouted, and suddenly Tygris and most of the other Heartless were frozen solid. I was so worn out by that that I could hardly stand up.

"Kaitlyn!" Tala and Furrah shouted, destroying the last of the unfrozen Heartless on their way to me. "Are you ok?" They asked.

I nodded. "Just have to get my breath back." I tapped the power again, and felt it flowing through me. I summoned the Phoenix's Heart to my hand. "Now I'm ready."

I walked up to Tygris and put my hand on the ice enclosing it.

_Do it!_ cried a voice from inside.

"Like the Phoenix, and like I have done, with the power of this Keyblade, you will rise from the ashes of these flames of revenge and be born anew, your heart and power restored."

I pointed the Phoenix's Heart at Tygris, and the end started to glow. From the end burst out a stream of fire that consumed Tygris and the Heartless. They disappeared in the smoke and flames, but then, out of the center, walked a beautiful white tiger-like creature, with two long tails and fire still surrounding it, but the green eyes looking stronger and more in control than ever before.

_Thank you, _she said, her voice now clearly feminine, _Thank you for everything. Please remember to help Luc though. I am going back to him, to help fight of the taint, but the others and I won't be able to hold out for all that long. Please hurry! Goodbye._ She said, and then her image faded.

The flames burned out, and square was completely empty, except for me and my friends.

"What was that voice I heard?" asked Tala.

"Um..." I could feel myself turning red as I scratched my head. "It was someone I knew. We were together before everything was destroyed."

"Oh, so that would explain the attitude change, once you heard him," she responded.

"So, what now?" Furrah asked.

I was about to answer, but I was interrupted by the ground starting to shake. I turned around, and there, in the middle of the square, a huge hole formed. When it was about ten feet across, the shaking stopped. The hole was perfectly circular.

_Come..._cried a voice from the hole.

"Um..." started Tala.

"We heard that one," finished Furrah.

"I think that voice was right." I told them. "We need to go to where ever that leads."

"We'll follow you where ever you go." Tala said, and Furrah nodded.

"So," I looked at them. "Are we ready?" I asked.

"Yeah." They nodded.

We jumped into the hole and into darkness so deep that light faded in seconds. We passed through a barrier-like thing that we could only feel, and we kept falling.

* * *

We fell, and for a time I could see Tala and Furrah falling a short distance away. Then I felt something brush my shoulder and we fell into some trees. I lost sight of the others but then I hit the ground, hard. My head fell back and I felt something hard, like a rock, and the world went dark.

_From red giant to supernova_

_Back to you and me_

_A cloaked entity within a virtual reality_

_Mechanised and organised_

_To me it's plain to see_

_The hand that's been busy weaving fantasy_

_It's so hard to understand_

_And often we are blind_

_But if truth were an ocean would it fit in the pool of a human mind_

_You're all alone_

_And it doesn't seem quite fair_

_Why we're all left in ignorance_

_Turning to despair (turning to despair)_

_Philosophy and theology offer us a glimpse_

_At something more incredible (incredible)_

_Than you and I_

_(Chorus)_

_So call on the secret life_

_Call on the secret life_

_Show me the way of life_

_Bring on the secret life_

_-Secret Life, The Corrs_

Note: Well, there you go. I've had that last part written since chapter 2 and it took forever to get here. I bet no one can guess where they are cough In the next chapter, an old friend, who we all love, will return to the stage. (hint hint) Well, thanks for everything, please R&R, and come back soon for the next chapter! Later!


	5. Open, says me!

It's FINALLY DONE!!!!!! Well, here's the next part of The Key of Heart, and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 5: "Open, says me!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and solid ground under me.

"Drink this," said a male voice. I felt water touch my lips and I drank gratefully. By the feeling in my parched throat, I must have been out for a while.

"Here you go," he said, helping me to sit up.

I opened my eyes and looked around, taking in everything, the campfire, the nearby river, and the forest completely surrounding us. "Where're my..." I stopped when I saw who it was. "Oh my gosh. This is too much. First Seifer, then Riku, now you."

Sora's mouth dropped open. "You saw Riku? When? Where? How? I thought he was still behind the door." His eyes flashed over to his left, to something he knew about, but that I couldn't see.

But he was still the innocent, blue-eyed boy he had been before, but his clothes and figure had changed. His clothes were now black, and his eyes showed evidence of an "old soul" like he had seen many things that a person of his age shouldn't have.

"I saw Riku a few days ago," I told him. _Was it really only that long? _I wondered. "It was at my house, which is no longer there."

"So, your world was destroyed too. Dang it!" Sora said, punching the ground. "I just hate it when I can't save a world. It makes me so mad!"

"I understand. I also wield a Keyblade, and I saw the door that I could have locked to save my world, but...well, 'It's in the past. If you can't run from it, learn from it.' So, where are my friends?" I asked.

"Oh, the cat-girl and the wolf?"

I nodded, "That's Furrah and Tala."

"They went out to find some food. I found them earlier."

"So, how long have you been here?" I asked.

"Oh, my name's Sora." He held out his hand and I shook it.

"I'm Kaitlyn."

"Riku was one of my friends, back at my home..."

"Destiny Islands. You were friends with Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Riku, and Kairi." His mouth dropped open further than it had before. "I know a lot about you Sora." I went on to explain most of it, all the while thinking, _Though knowledge may be power, the truth takes a REALLY long time to tell._

"So, you've been at Traverse Town since then?" he asked.

"Yep. I met Furrah and Tala there, along with Seifer, Valona, and Merlin. Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith must still be at Hollow Bastion; I didn't see them anywhere in Traverse Town."

"Yeah, most people have stayed where they are. The walls only recently came down, and I think we've been the only once traveling."

"Well, there is another," I told him about Luc and Tygris.

"So, more Heartless," he sighed. "I thought I felt them come back. But all the doors I've found are still locked."

"Yes, but maybe it's not closing, but opening that needs to happen. I think, maybe there's a door that needs to be opened."

"Yes," he thought, "what about the door of light? The door I was told that I would open?"

I nodded and told him about the dream I had had when I helped him to open a large, white door.

"A large white door huh?" he sighed, "I haven't seen anything like that in a while. But," he looked over into the woods around us, "I think I sense something over that way."

"Yeah," I nodded, "I feel it too. Like a faint tug on my heart, or maybe my Keyblade."

He nodded and a sudden crash behind us made us both jump. We both jumped up and pulled out our Keyblades.

"Woah! It's just us." It was Furrah and Tala, back with some food. The food was already skinned and skewered, ready to be cooked and eaten. We cooked it over the fire and dug in.

"Hey, we noticed something while we were out." Tala said. "We came across a path in the woods. It was a grayish white color and it had an odd feel to it."

I looked at Sora; he nodded. I told them about the things we had been sensing. "I think we need to follow that path. Can you find it again?" I asked. Tala nodded "Then we'll go when we're done eating.

We finished, put out the fire and restored the camp to a natural look. Tala and Furrah led the way to the path.

When I saw it, I knew we were going the right way. Sora noticed my look of surprise and gave me an inquisitive look.

I turned to him; "Don't you remember, when you closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, that path the door was on?" he nodded. "Look familiar?" I asked, gesturing to the path.

His eyes widened in recognition.

The forest ended abruptly and we saw the door. On the black background of the sky, the door shone with an eerie light. The huge, white door glistened, silently calling "Open, open. It is time to open." The vines outlining it seemed to grow and crawl as we looked at it. The hearts on it seemed to pulse, and I felt my heart responding.

"Open," I whispered, "It's time to open." I heard two other voices echo mine. I turned to Sora and he shrugged. He was the second voice, but he didn't know who the third was either.

Sora drew his Kingdom Key and approached the door.

I drew my Keyblade as well. I pointed it at the Kingdom Key willing it to be strong enough to open the door.

A golden blaze flew from the tip of the Phoenix's Heart to the tip of Sora's Kingdom Key, where it started to glow. The glow rushed down it, making it into a Key-shaped star, burning brightly in the darkness.

Sora swung the Kingdom Key around in a circle, ending pointing at the door. "It's time," he said, "to unlock and open!"

The light flooded out of the Keyblade in a stream into the door, and, when all of it had gone, there was the quiet, but distinguishable, sound of a door unlocking.

The doors swung outward slowly, but quietly.

As it opened, lights shown out, temporarily blinding us all. But as my eyes became used to the light, I was able to discern a distinguishable figure, in a black cloak, standing in the doorway.

"Is it...?" I whispered.

"Riku!!!" Sora cried, running to embrace his friend.

As Riku stepped out of the doorway, I saw something flash near his hand. _Is that a bracelet?_ I wondered, but when I looked again, it was gone, probably hidden in his sleeves or glove...then I remembered the dream that wasn't a dream, and I felt myself turn slightly red.

Riku finished talking to Sora, and turned to me. "Hello Kaitlyn." He was wearing his blindfold still.

"Hello Riku."

He seemed surprised that I was clam, though still a very nice shade of pink.

"Merlin unblocked the memory," I told him. "Even though I had already experienced some of it as a dream."

"Ah, I see. Well, it turns out you were right. You were meant to help open the door that kept us in."

"Us?" Sora asked.

"Did you really forget about me?" called a voice from the door.

There stood a smaller person in another cloak, his Keyblade glinting while resting on his shoulder, his two ears telling the world who he was.

"Welcome back King Mickey," I bowed.

"Who?" then he recognized me. "Oh, hello Kaitlyn, thank you. How have you been?"

As he stepped out of the door, it closed behind him and I told them briefly (I'm getting good at that) about the finding of my Keyblade, the destruction of my world, and meeting with Queen Minnie.

"How is she doing?" Mickey asked.

"Fine, but she wants you to come home soon." I snapped my fingers, "I just remembered. Daisy gave me something for you." I reached into a pocket and fingered the three Keychains Daisy had given me, and I felt them pull towards their owners. "This one is for you," I said, handing Mickey the horn with scales.

He took it and nodded. "Thank you. I'll take good care of the Horn of Justice."

I pulled out the one with a single white claw on it. I turned to Sora. "I think this one is for you, but I feel that it's not complete."

His eyebrows went up suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"Your pocket is glowing."

"Huh?" I looked down and saw one of my pockets glowing. I reached in and pulled out a single white feather. _This is the feather I picked up in my dream! The very first dream, that started this all!_ I realized. I held it out to the Keychain and they both started glowing. Sora came over to me.

"Let me," he said, taking the feather in one hand and the claw in the other. He placed the feather on the claw and the two melded. The glow receded and the feeling of incompleteness faded with it. He held up the Keychain, the claw and feather together as one. "This is the Griffin's Light."

I reached into my pocket for the last Keychain, but when I touched it, I felt no pull. Well, it was more like a dormant feeling, like the person that it was meant for didn't have his Keyblade yet. So I calmly put both hands in my pockets.

"Thank you so much." Sora said.

"You're welcome. Thank Lady Daisy if you see her." I told Mickey. "You are going back to Disney Castle soon aren't you?"

"Well," he sighed, "I really want to, but I can't. I have a mission still, and I have to fulfill it before I can return home. Speaking of which, I need to leave soon, and get on with my mission if I'm to be of assistance to any of you. Take care Sora, Kaitlyn, Riku. I'll see you all again someday."

I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Riku's hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"He's got it all planned out already. Don't worry about him."

Mickey walked away and disappeared into the forest.

Sora turned to us. "I need to go as well," he said. "I'm sorry. I really want to stay and talk but..."

"We understand," Riku said. "We all have things so do. We'll see you again soon right?"

Sora nodded. "Thanks again Kaitlyn." He turned away from us and disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

We heard a strange voice yelling, "Where the heck were you?"

I laughed when I realized it was Donald. I turned to Riku. "So, what are you going to so?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. But I can't really do anything but fight the Heartless," he said.

"Well, we've got plenty of those around." I told him about Luc and Tygris.

"Looks like it's starting all over again. Or, maybe, it was never truly finished. Nothing ever did feel completed after the door closed," he said.

"So, if you're going to be traveling, how are you going to get around?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure. I've met some people who have traveled by strength of will alone, but if you've got another option, that would be real nice."

"Well, you could travel with us." I offered. Tala and Furrah both nodded, but hesitantly. I could tell that something about him made them distrustful. I knew I'd have to explain it later.

He nodded and we all clasped hands. I closed my eyes and gave the gummi ship a mental command. When I opened my eyes, we were on board.

Riku looked around, or I guess he did. His blindfold was till on. We walked around, exploring the ship and finding all the rooms. The dorm had two bunk beds and the kitchen was close by. Everything that we could need was supplied.

We went to the bridge, debating what we should do next.

"I think we should find Leon and the others. They could help us out," I suggested.

Riku nodded, "That's a good idea." He yawned. "I think I'm going to go get some rest."

Tala spoke up, "Me too. I could use a good, comfortable sleep."

"Good night. Sleep tight," I said as they walked away.

I sat down at the controls for the ship. A screen popped up. It listed several sets of coordinates. I touched one and a description came up. I recognized it as Traverse Town. I touched the others and found Hollow Bastion. When I touched it again, a screen popped up asking if we wanted autopilot. After choosing yes, I turned to Furrah.

"Is there something you want to say?" I asked. "You've been acting strange since we met Riku."

"Well, it's just something about him seems...dark. Foreboding even. I just don't know if I can really trust him," Furrah admitted.

"Dark doesn't mean evil." I told her.

"I know but, I just...don't feel right about this. It's just...strange...having _him_ on board. I mean, wasn't he with _them_? Could _he_ be a traitor?" She looked up, but I couldn't meet her amber colored gaze. "You know I'm just trying to watch out for you, right?"

"Yeah, I know." I sighed, "It's just...I don't know, but I want to trust him. He protected Kairi once, and Sora too."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked.

"Of course you can. I won't tell."

"I want to trust him, and I want him to trust us. I want to...oh, I just don't know how to say it..." I sighed.

"You like him, don't you?" she said for me.

"Well, yeah. But, I also find it hard to trust him, though it's not as difficult for me as it seems to be for you...but, I just don't know."

"It's alright. If you really want to, ask him. Talk to him about whatever you want. On my world, they used to say that 'Words can make real the impossible.'" Then she laughed, "But we're also the people who said 'The easy way to peace is through war' so, I guess you'll just have to interpret our sayings for your self."

"Thanks, Furrah."

"No problem. Just follow your heart. I told you once that I would follow you until the end, and I'm not giving up on you now. I just get a strange feeling from him. Just be careful." She warned.

"I will."

"So, who's Leon?" she asked.

"He's someone Sora met a while ago." I told her. "He and his friends know a lot about Ansem, the Heartless, and things like that."

"Ah. Good idea to go see him then," she sighed and started to stretch. "Want to spar?" she asked.

"Sure. I need something useful to do," I agreed.

We sparred for about an hour, trading blows, and giving advice. We took a break for ten minutes, eating and talking in the kitchen.

Tala and Riku came in, both looking very rested.

"Good morning," Tala said.

"So, how much longer?" Riku asked, blunt and to the point as usual.

I thought for a moment. "About an hour and a half." I suddenly realized how tired I was. Yawning, I stood up. "Well, I think I'm going to go take a nap while I've got some time."

Furrah stood too. "I'll clean up and then I'm going to sleep as well."

I nodded and left. I fell onto the closest bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I woke up what felt like hours later, but I found out was just minutes. I heard a low, soft growl and jumped. Then I realized that it was just Furrah's snore. She had taken the opposite top bunk, and her arm was hanging off the edge, just like a cat's might have done.

I smiled and got up, planning to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But just after I closed the door to the dorm, I heard voices on the bridge. It was Tala and Riku talking. I knew I shouldn't, but I paused and listened to them anyway.

"So what's it like over there, on the other side of that door?" Tala was asking.

"It's dark," Riku said, "and quiet. You get...very lonely. You miss things, like sunlight and starlight. It's like nothing there is good enough. That's one reason that it's so good to be back. Now I can actually be happy."

"One reason?" Tala asked. "What might another be?"

"Well," he sighed. "I'm not sure how to put it but, well, danger dragged us together once, and since we met, I can't stop thinking about her. I feel like...I don't know...she needs me or something. There's a bond there, one that appeared out of nowhere, that draws us together."

Silence. But Tala's curiosity got the best of her.

"So, who is she?"

Thoughts started flying in my head. _Do I want to hear this? What should I do? Should I go back to the dorm? Or the kitchen? Or should I go in?_

Riku decided for me.

"I don't think I want to say quite yet. I want to tell her and find out how she feels first."

I sighed in relief. I headed into the kitchen and got myself a glass of water. I sat there thinking for a while, until a strange alarm went off.

I raced to the bridge, followed shortly by Furrah.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We're nearly to Hollow Bastion," said Tala.

"What else would it be but the Heartless?" asked Riku sarcastically, though he practically spit the last word.

I jumped into another chair where a joystick-like control waited.

"I'm guessing this is the weapon system?" I asked. I tested the trigger and was satisfied to see a red beam shoot out. "I'm guessing that's a yes."

Furrah and Tala jumped into the other weapon control chairs and Riku took manual flight control.

"There's no turning back. Let's do this!" he shouted.

Then _they_ burst out of nowhere.

Note: Wow, this took a while. It's finally done!!!!! YAY!!!! I have some of the next chapter done too, so that shouldn't take nearly so long. I've got new stuff all planned out and I just can't wait. I've been VERY busy, but I won't stop writing! (I have to get them to Spira too! hint hint wink wink Well, R&R and come back for more later! C y'all!


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